Katelyn Ahmann
August 2021
Katelyn
Ahmann
,
BSN, RN, CMSRN
Trauma Surgery/Recovery
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Iowa City
,
IA
United States
Katelyn looked at me and said, "You can do this." And she took each opportunity after that to show me what to do.
A little over a year ago, Katelyn was one of the many kind and competent nurses who tended to my husband as he healed from an emergency surgery, resulting in a very large and sensitive incision in his torso area. As we focused on his daily tasks of walking, drinking, eating, and holding everything down, part of his incision needed to be reopened to heal without infection. We had both been living in the hospital room since his discharge from surgery and were ready to be in our own home with its comforts, bed, and food. What set Katelyn apart, in addition to her above-and-beyond kindnesses she would offer when she could, happened when I found out that caring for his wound, which she had been doing for the past two days at that point, was the only thing stopping him from being discharged from the hospital. I was scared, upset, and sure that this was a taller order than I could fill. The task was daunting to me, being someone without medical training, in addition to the subject being someone I love very much! Katelyn looked at me and said, "You can do this." And she took each opportunity after that to show me what to do, allowed us to record the process, watched over my attempts, and trained me to do the thing that would allow him to leave the hospital. As soon as I did this correctly under her watch, she helped us move the discharge forward, and we celebrated as we moved towards continuing to heal at home after 10 nights and 11 days in his hospital room. There is even more to the story of his health journey, but the story of our stay in the Trauma unit ends here because Katelyn gave me the ability to care for my husband as he needed to be. Thank you, Katelyn.